The present invention relates to a distributed service network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a network which provides communications and other services to fixed, mobile and nomadic users in a manner which is transparent to external service providers and users.
Recent developments in telecommunications have resulted in networks for a wide variety of services. From conventional voice or data networks to wireless packet and enhanced paging networks, the variety of telecommunications options available to individuals and business is staggering. This variety of options has lead to a revolution in how people live and work and mobile and/or nomadic workers are becoming increasingly common.
While the available telecommunications services have been adopted to various degrees, to a large extent these services, and the networks that support them, remain separate from each other reducing the overall potential of these services. For example, it may not be possible to send email from a personal computer client in an office to a pager client used by a salesman, even though both are connected to respective telecommunications networks.
This lack of integration and/or communication between networks and clients is a recognized problem and a variety of xe2x80x9cmiddlewarexe2x80x9d products have been proposed and/or produced to transfer data between one network/system and another network/system. For example, Chapter 5 of the publication, xe2x80x9cUnderstanding the Next Phase of Mobile Commutingxe2x80x9d, 1997, by the Yankee Group is entitled, xe2x80x9cEvolving Middleware Solutions for Wireless Remote Accessxe2x80x9d and discusses middleware solutions for communications with mobile users via wireless communications.
While middleware can be configured to provide the desired interconnectivity for many specific situations, to date no general solution exists to interconnect various telecommunications networks. Further, no solution exists to provide a distributed network to supply a variety of desired services at multiple sites in an essentially transparent and convenient manner for users and service providers. Thus, the long sought goal of communication from any client or service to any other client between any two locations is still largely an unachieved goal.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel network, network region and method for providing telecommunication services which obviates or mitigates at least one disadvantage of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distributed service network comprising at least two regions connected by a communications backbone, each said region comprising:
at least one region server including at least one transducer operable to convert an input data stream in a first format to an output data stream in a second data format and a communications host operable to communicate with other region servers in said distributed telecommunications network via a communications backbone;
at least one bridge connected to said at least one region server and operable to establish connections with communications clients;
at least one adapter connected to said at least one region server, said adapter operable to connect to an external service and to permit communications between said external service and said at least one region server; and
a region manager connected to each of said at least one region servers and operable to determine the type of a communications client connected to said region and to select a region server and a bridge connected thereto to maintain a connection with said communications client, and wherein data received from either of said external service and said communications client which is in a first data format incompatible with the other of said external service and said communications client is converted to a second data format appropriate to aid other of said external service and said communications client by said transducer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distributed service network comprising at least two regions connected by a communications backbone, each said region comprising:
at least one region server including at least one transducer operable to convert an input data stream in a first format to an output data stream in a second data format and a communications host operable to communicate with other region servers in said distributed telecommunications network via a communications backbone;
at least one bridge connected to said at least one region server and operable to establish connections with communications clients;
at least one adapter connected to said at least one region server, said adapter operable to connect to an external service and to permit communications between said external service and said at least one region server; and a region manager connected to each of said at least one region servers and operable to determine the type of a communications client connected to said region and to select a region server and a bridge connected thereto to maintain a connection with said communications client, and wherein data received from either
of said external service and said communications client which is in a first data format incompatible with the other of said external service and said communications client is converted to a second data format appropriate to aid other of said external service and said communications client by said transducer.
The present invention provides a novel distributed service network which allows users to access telecommunications and other external services from any access point in the network. These services are provided transparently to the user and are also provided transparently to the service provider. The network can be customized for each type of client, using parameters known for that client, and can be customized for each user""s preferences. Communications through the network are independent of the transport protocol employed, as all protocol, data, API, etc. conversions are automatically performed by a data conversion system and/or adapters in the network. Also, the network and its services are transparent as to where the user connects to the network.